


Why it Should be

by Kayylala



Series: Joker Junior Series [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond
Genre: Angst, Dissociative Identity Disorder, M/M, Tim Drake is Joker Jr.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21589588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayylala/pseuds/Kayylala
Summary: Tim's had a rough week.In hindsight, Tim should have known what would happened. An exhausted body equals an exhausted mind.Junior isn't really a fan of the soreness in his muscles, but he does like being in control.He's going to have SO much fun with this...
Relationships: Tim Drake & Joker Junior, Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Series: Joker Junior Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550455
Comments: 9
Kudos: 246
Collections: impravidus's favorite fics





	Why it Should be

**Author's Note:**

> The awaited sequel...  
> Hopefully you all like it as much as the first :)

Tim isn't hesitant to say they make a good pairing. Him and Jason, Jason and him.

A year has gone by now, without incident and without even the slightest hint of Junior. Sure, Tim still carries a lasting fear that one day he'll wake up covered in Jason's blood, but the nagging worry had left him. As Jason has pointed out, what's the point of worrying over the 'what if's'.

Nightmares of Junior are rare these days, but still come about. Tim and his alter standing face to face in a battle of the mind, a battle for control. Tim would dream of what would happen if Junior won. He sees blood and bodies and Batman's- Bruce's- head on a spike. Tim knows Junior is just like his father but combine the Joker's insanity with Tim's skill set and you have the most terrifying man in the world.

The thought of that is enough to keep fighting. Tim won't let himself become that monster. He can't.

But even the best of people have a breaking point and not even Tim's powerful will-force and superior intellect can maintain its strength all the time.

It starts with a bad week.

Arkham breakout of Sunday night; Scarecrow, Riddler, Penguin, Ivy, Freeze, every single high profile villain managed to escape and despite the reinforcement Bruce swallowed his pride to call in, recapturing them all took three days of no rest and very little food.

And, as per usual, everyone who wasn't an escapee thought this was the perfect time to get away with smaller crimes while the Bats were busy with the big names. Street gangs wreaked havoc, there was a burglary in every street and a mugging down every alley and even regular civilians got up to mischief.

If he hadn’t been working hard enough at night, Tim was working all out at WE during the day, having to fire half his board under a corruption scandal.

On Wednesday, Maroni had a drugs shipment arriving at the western docks and Two-Face was preparing for his weapons stock to be arriving at the eastern piers the hour after.

On Thursday, Jason accidentally let Black Mask know their address and they didn't have a building to come home to on Friday morning, instead finding a crater where it used to be.

Friday afternoon meant Tim getting Kidnapped and while it was a short-lived affair, Jason coming to his rescue within just a few hours, he didn't come out with any less than a broken finger, nose and several ribs, a split lip and a bruise the size of a baseball around his right eye.

When he got home, he found Bruce had dumped a pile of case files on his desk and needed them solved as soon as possible. Safe to say, he didn't get so much as an hour's sleep that night.

Come Saturday morning, and Tim could hardly stand on his own two feet. Incidentally, this lead to him falling down the stairs making for a not-so-fun trip with the broken ribs he has. Lucky for him, he hit his head and knocked himself out and therefore could feel the pain.

And that's how Jason found him half an hour later, sprawled and broken on the platform landing.

Carefully he scooped him up and took him back to their bed, hoping that he'll rest and wake up refreshed. In a way he did, but at the same time didn't, because it wasn't _Tim_ waking up at all.

XXXXXXXX

The first thing Junior is aware of is his laboured breathing. A gentle prod let him know Tim has broken numerous of their ribs.

Way to go, Timbo.

Cautiously, he looks around, taking in his surroundings. He is in a well-lived in bedroom, signs of life marking the walls with shelves and books and half-drunk glasses of a variety of drinks; coffee, water, whiskey, resting on the bedside tables.

Yes, tables. As in plural, indicating that two people share this bed.

Just as those thoughts spring in Junior's mind, a man walks into the room.

Junior notes how strong he looks and that those muscles aren't just for show. This man is a fighter.

The next things Junior sees is the bandage that appears out from underneath his jeans, visible from lack of socks or shoes and trails up the leg, clearly supporting a weak ankle. A target point if this ends in a fight.

But the man is smiling and there's something familiar about it and Junior knows that this is someone important to Tim. But there's a significance about him he can't yet place.

"I'm glad to see your finally up," the man says. "I was beginning to get worried there. You've been out for nearly half a day."

Junior squints up at him as he sits on the edge of the bed and eyes the mug passed to him suspiciously.

"Come on, Tim. Don't look at it like that. So I put sugar in my coffee. We don't all like to drink sludge like you."

Apprehensively, Junior takes a sip, if only because this man thinks he's Tim and Junior gets the feeling he wouldn't try to poison Tim.

"So how are you feeling?" the man asks.

Junior shrugs. Right now, he's already calculated his best option is to pretend to be Tim and he hasn't exactly spoken in a while. He doesn't know if he'll sound like Tim or not. What does Tim even sound like? He'll find a video recording to listen to later. There's bound to be one around somewhere.

The man looks at him wearily before sighing and taking the coffee back. "Get some rest, Tim. God knows you've earned it. I'm not going out tonight so I'll be here when you wake up."

He gets up and leave, closing the door quietly behind him. Junior waits a few seconds before throwing the blanket off himself and sitting up.

His body aches and he vaguely wonders what Tim has been doing. It feels as though he fell down the stairs or something.

On the bedside table there's a phone and Junior reaches for it, pressing a thumb to the button at the bottom and watches as it accepts his finger print ID.

He spends half an hour scrolling through the content. In his photos, Tim as lots of photos of himself and the man together. Going through his text messages, Junior becomes to assume that the man's name is Jason and forms the connection that he must be the person Tim shares his bed, and his life, with.

_Jason. Why is that so familiar?_

The name itches at something in Junior's brain but he can't quite figure it out. He blames the lack of memory on Tim for not relinquishing control over his body for nearly two years.

Junior craves those days in his earliest memories, when Tim shared with him a bit more and those late nights he'd wander around those endlessly empty halls looking for the Batman, for Bruce Wayne.

He remembers the last time he had control. He remembers seeing the sleeping blonde and vividly recalls the compulsion he felt to kill her. He remembers getting _so_ close.

But he's never been able to keep his grip for more than a few hours. Tim always wins. Junior has to commend him for that; he does have a strong will.

Junior puts the phone down and opens the table draw. He sees mostly what he expected of Tim, the common place things like several different pens, a flashlight, a few condoms and a wallet, as well as distinctly unique things such as a pair of vials, one labelled fear toxin and the other Joker toxin (a bubbling feeling rose into Junior's chest knowing his Papa's work was still causing enough trouble Tim kept the antidote to his toxin in his bedside drawer), a domino mask and a throwing knife shaped like a bird.

At the end of the bed is a duffle and something red and shiny catches Junior's eye. He rises unsteadily to his feet to go investigate, but he has hardly taken a few steps before Tim's body betrays him and he collapses, falling to a heap on the floor.

And try as he might, the tiredness pulling his eye lids shut is too much for him to fight and he is enveloped in the darkness of sleep.

XXXXXXXX

Tim startles awake, fists flying and sitting up quickly in a motion he immediately regrets.

"Calm down, tiger, it's just me," Jason's gentle voice speaks.

"Jason?" he says groggily and taking note of where they were. "Why am I lying on the floor?"

A worried smile comes over Jason's face. "I was actually hoping you'd tell me that."

Tim's brain turns to think if what happened but he comes up with nothing as Jason helps him off the carpet and back onto their bed.

"What happened?" Tim asks.

Jason winces. "Well firstly you fell down the stairs this morning. Which did wonders for your body by the way, then you were unconscious for a good while and I came to check on you not 20 minutes ago. You were awake but you kind of just looked at me weird, I gave you my coffee, you looked at _that_ weird, drank some, didn't complain about its sweetness, looked at me weird again and then I told you to go back to sleep. Then I hear this _thunk_ , I come to check on you and you're on the floor. Heaven knows what you were doing."

"Oh," is all Tim manage to say. "I don't remember any of that."

"You _were_ pretty out of it so I'm not surprised. Just take it easy for the rest of the day, yeah?"

XXXXXXXX

Tim figured that there would be a Joker copy-cat eventually but that doesn't make the bastard any easier to deal with. With his and Jason's combined effort, they manage to apprehend the psycho without much hassle. It is clear he isn't a very experienced criminal. Nowhere near Joker standards, anyway.

Thank God for that.

But it doesn't do much for either of their mental health. Throughout the week, Junior's voice pops in and out of Tim's head and he wreaks havoc in Tim's dreams. He feels guilty for waking Jason in the nights, knowing that he himself is dreaming of that night in Ethiopia, so Tim just doesn't sleep.

Once the culprit is in Arkham where he belongs, Tim goes home and crashes, practically passing out the moment his head hits the pillow.

Realistically, it isn't a surprise that it is Junior, not Tim, who wakes up.

His head is buzzing and Junior knows that once again, Tim has not been looking after them. He is grateful however that he can actually breathe this time and while his muscle ache, there is nothing broken or torn or unusable.

Junior spends some time walking around the empty apartment. It is around midday and nobody else is home. He flicks through the reports he finds sitting on the coffee table and reads about the Joker copycat.

The thought of someone impersonating his father is insulting but the idea that people still idolise him is comforting. At least his memory still clings to Gotham like he had anyways hoped.

There is another file with a sticky note on top of it with a drawn smiley face and love heart. When Junior realises it is the arrest record of a man named Raymond Langcross, who wore terrible green hair in a cheap replication of his father, Junior figured Jason (that is his name, isn't it?) must have left it for Tim to see when he woke up.

Does that mean Jason is a vigilante too? Junior can only assume. Maybe he can find some evidence around here. If there is some, he is sure he could. Two people who think it is okay to leave things like these files on their coffee table mustn't be overly concerned with other people finding their stuff.

A quick search of the wardrobe turns up a duffle bag full of guns and other weaponry. Inside, Junior is hit with a sense of déjà vu upon seeing the bright red helmet. He looks it over carefully and thoughtfully. Something inside his brain is telling him it is familiar and he hopes it isn't anything to do with Tim.

Maybe a combination of both their memories.

That's when Junior sees the laptop.

He is disappointed to see that this one won't be as easy to get into as the phone. Tim isn't the type for setting personal passwords or the type to write them down anywhere. Knowing Tim, it will be a random combination of letter, numbers and symbols.

He racks his brain, hoping to turn over any of Tim's memories but as expected, he finds nothing.

Giving up, Junior moves to the kitchen and finds it barren. There are no knives hanging up or in the draws and he finds that very suspicious. Maybe, after all these years, Tim is still weary of him. That is nice to know.

It will only make this more fun.

He hits a stroke of luck however. Junior can hardly believe his eyes as he looks over the many notes stuck to the fridge and sees, in a neat cursive, the words; ' _Tim's laptop: fgt5!vk8'_.

Junior takes the note with him and logs into the laptop. From there it is easy to access all of the confidential data Tim possesses and the first thing he does is search the name 'Jason'.

Jason is Jason Todd, aka the Red Hood. There are several videos that Junior watches and several pictures he scrolls through of the man in his unorthodox suit of Kevlar with a chest plate branded with a red bat, military cargo pants and leather boots and jacket. Just from the photos, Junior can see at least four guns strapped to his person and wonders how Jason Todd became associated with Batman.

A little more scrolling and reading then everything makes sense.

' _Jason Todd: ~~decrease~~ alive_

_Alias: (former) Robin; (current) Red Hood'_

Jason Todd is the boy his father murdered.

Junior smiles to himself. Things are becoming brilliantly interesting and a plan forms inside his head. The mission his father gave him was to kill the Batman, and he is still very intent to do so, but that was before Tim killed him. Junior is going to make sure that Tim pays thoroughly for that and killing Jason Todd is only going to be the start of it.

Laughing wickedly, Junior makes a little doodle on the sticky note with Tim's password on it. Nothing to over the top, but Tim will know what it means.

Junior is going to enjoy this.

XXXXXXXX

The sound of the front door closing wakes Tim from where he is asleep on the couch.

"What're you doin' sleeping on the couch? Got a problem with the bed?" Jason jokes as he places the bags of groceries on the bench top.

"I don't know," Tim mumbles. He remembers going to sleep in his bed but has no recollection of moving to the couch.

"Anyway," Jason continues, "you've seen the arrest report. That bastard ain't getting out anytime soon."

"Nah, where did you put it? Who was he in the end?"

Jason raises an eyebrow at him. "It's sitting open right in front of you. You know, I'm beginning to think you might be sleepwalking.

The idea of that sent a shiver down Tim's spine. Just the thought Junior might have been in control makes him want to be sick. But of course, he can't tell Jason that.

The rest of the day goes by and Tim's mind doesn't stray far from Junior. The possibility of what might have happened had Jason been at home is terrifying and he makes a mental note to be extra careful where they both put their weapons while Tim's asleep.

It is an hour before he is planning to leave for patrol and Tim thinks that he should check to see if there are any new cases that need his focus when his heart stops beating for a moment.

On the desk beside his laptop is the note Jason had stuck on the fridge with Tim's laptop password.

Tim knows that Jason wouldn't have put it there, he's long since memorised the digits, and Jason certainly wouldn't have drawn that in the corner.

He stares at the 'HA! HA! HA!' for a long minute before forcing his eyes away. Tim runs to the bathroom and throws up twice. Who knows what Junior was looking at on his laptop. He could have accessed any file, Tim had facial ID constantly running so that only the Bats could view the files, but Junior wore his face.

If he got into the Bat system, what else did he do?

XXXXXXXX

Junior doesn't see the light of day for far too long after that. It is nearly half a year later; Tim has been careful. But even the Great Timothy Drake can't contain him forever.

Junior is acutely aware of a terrible pain coursing through him. Next, he's aware of the chair his strapped to and the wires that wrap around his wrists and back.

An electric chair. Very original.

Nigma's laugh in the background is oddly comforting. Junior has never had the privilege of meeting him before but there is something intuitive telling him that this is a situation he can handle.

When the time the electric pulse ends, Juniors head swims around for a moment and he almost misses the riddle Nigma asks.

"Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?"

Junior doesn't answer for several reason. One, his breath is far too ragged for talking. Second, he does not feel like playing Nigma's game right now. He has things to do.

"Tick, tock, Red. Time's running out and I definitely don't think you want another shock, do you?"

So that's how this is working. Answer or electric shock. How very cliché, Ed.

"Whoop! Time's up! And the answer is… a coffin! You might need one after this…"

Junior has to admit, the Riddler _does_ put on quite a show. It is nothing compared to his Papa, but still mildly impressive. He has little time to think anything after that, the electricity jolting through him.

But Junior was born to this. Quite literally. The first thing he ever knew was this feeling and having this energy flowing through him once more is inspiring.

When it stops, Junior laughs. He couldn't help it. He hasn't felt this connected to his Papa in a long time.

"What's so funny!" Nigma barks but Junior can't contain himself. "Stop laughing! Red Robin!"

Nigma storms over and grips Junior's chin between surprisingly strong fingers. "I'm sorry," Junior says because it feels like something Tim might say. The words are rough on his tongue. It has been a while since he'd put his larynx to use himself. "I'm not, haha, Red Robin…"

"What?" Nigma barely has time to process his words when Junior jerks his head back and slams it as hard as possible against Nigma's.

Junior's vision swims for a moment but in the haze of motion, he manages to smash a knee into Nigma's bowed head and the man is out cold on the floor.

It then takes Junior several more minutes to get himself out of the tangle of ropes and wires but eventually finds himself standing and admiring Tim's Red Robin suit.

He is an impressive young man, Junior remarks. Much more impressive than the scrawny little boy Junior had originally known. There is no denying Tim has come a long way in the last few years.

But there will be time for admirations later. Right now, Junior needs out.

On his way to the door, he aims numerous powerful kicks at Nigma's ribs and skull to test Tim's new strength and isn't disappointed at the sound of crushing bone.

In the open air, oh how nice it is, Junior stands and watches the cars on the street fly past and the lights flicker with a sense of foreboding that only happens in Gotham. For a few moments, he contemplates an attempt at using Tim's grapple to make his way to the roof tops but heartedly decides against it.

Instead, he walks up the stairs of a fire escape, taking his time, not feeling the need to rush. He's hardly been on the roof a couple of minutes before heavy footsteps drag his attention from the street below to behind him.

"Red, thank God, you alright?"

Junior took a moment to register the words, understanding that this is the Red Hood, Jason, Tim's boyfriend, and he is talking to Junior.

"Oh, yes. Of course. Nigma might not be though."

"Why? What happened?" The tone makes Junior wish he could see Jason's face and wonders if he is raising his eyebrows or quirking a lip.

"Self-defence," Junior shrugs in a tone that hopefully resembled Tim's innocence.

The helmet nods and Jason says he'll be back in a minute. Junior stays put as instructed, curious to see the reaction he gets for the unnecessary damage he inflicted. While he can't say he knows Tim all that well, he figures what he did was much more extreme.

Jason does not disappoint.

He flips onto the roof and pulls the helmet off straight away, remorsefully still hidden behind the domino. "What the hell happened in there, Tim?"

Oh! This is getting exciting. Jason's tone, the way he says Tim's name specifically, implies he is _very_ mad. Interesting, considering Junior knows this man's bloody past.

"He must have been feeling resilient tonight," he says ominously and feels, even from where he stands, Jason's anger doubling.

"What did you do to him?" The tone is still taut.

Junior shrugs again. "It was only a few well-placed kicks, Jason. I'm sure he's had worse."

This time Junior does get to see Jason's eyebrows rising but he didn't comment anymore. "I think it's time to call it a night, don't you agree?"

Junior nods and smirks to himself as Jason jumps from the roof. He makes his way back down the street, not quite feel confident enough in Tim's legs to go running around on the rooftops. Yet. And he knows he doesn't have such skill in this area as Tim does; which could potentially blow his cover.

After a period of thought, Junior asks, "Can we take your bike back?"

He thinks this is the safest play. Not only is he unaware of the actual address of Tim and Jason's apartment, he assumes it will be weird if he walks all the way there and he has no idea, himself, of how to drive.

Jason agrees and once again his tone is laced with confusion but he lets it go without another word, driving in silence with Junior's arms around his waist. Junior can’t help but thinks about how _easy_ it currently would be to stab Jason in the side and kill him.

Unfortunately, Junior doesn’t particularly feel like falling off a motorcycle tonight, though 

They pull up in an underground carpark that looks to be reserved for vigilante vehicles. He then leads Junior back to their apartment.

On their way, Junior decides that he'll head out again, alone. In their room, Junior digs around the cupboard that are a dreadful mix of both their clothes, and pulls out what he assumes is Tim's judging by the fact that material this size could never possibly fit around Jason's body.

Junior gets another raised eyebrow when he re-emerges from the room and into the kitchen.

"I'm going for a walk," he states simply and leaves, ignoring whatever it was that Jason is saying.

It is a lie because Junior ran. As fast and as far as Tim would take him. He needs to know his capabilities because eventually he'll need to put them to use.

And once more, Tim does not disappoint. His muscles are powerful and they carry Junior far and fast.

He runs along the street, attracting odd glances from those still using them at this hour, though that number is few. He moves to the roof, adding jumps and rolls and even tries a flip, having full confidence in Tim by then. It is fun and exhilarating, more adrenaline pumping through Junior's blood than he's ever known.

But eventually he stops, the burning of acid in his shared muscles bringing him to a halt and he is regretfully reminded that Tim is, after all, still human and feels human things. Therefore, so does he.

Despite the obviousness to that statement, it is not easy to remember. Tim seems to drive off more than most, seems to be more than human with everything Junior knows he can do. It is a sobering thought but excitement follows because just like Tim, like Junior, Batman- Bruce- is human too.

He lies panting on a roof of whatever building he has ended up on and lets himself have a moment of imagination, wondering all the ways he can complete his goal, his Papa's mission.

He imagines what he'll do to Tim after. The best ways to get revenge on him and he imagines killing everyone Tim cares about, piling them up on top of each other in a mountainous display of carnage, blood still dripping from his hands, and then he'll let Tim have control again to hear their last breaths and feel the warm blood and there will be nothing he can to do.

The sinister thoughts bring a Joker Smile to his face and he can't suppress the laugh the rises inside him, not that he wants to. There is no one around to hear it anyway.

He lets the laugh ring out before dragging himself back to his feet and running home, using the brilliantly trained mind to guide him back.

When he gets back, Jason is waiting for him and Junior lets him check him for injuries and waits while Jason inspects the electrical burns on his forearms, chest and temples. The question of where Junior had gone hangs in the air but conspicuously absence from Jason's questions and forces Junior to question whether this is something Tim does often, coming to the conclusion that yes, he does. Which is going to make things much easier.

When Jason decides that Tim's body is in order, they go to bed though Junior finds it profusely odd to be sleeping next to Jason, who thankfully keeps his hands to himself.

The man's behaviour tonight sparks an interest in Junior. He is oddly considerate, more so that Junior would have guessed; the way he dances cautiously around Tim and knowing what not to ask or do. Junior figures they truly do love and care for each other, and that is going to make everything about Junior's plans so much more fun.

XXXXXXXX

Tim feels disgusting when he wakes up. This brain hurts and his muscles ache. God, what had he gotten up to last night?

He remembers Riddler knocking him over the head and then waking up in the bastard of a chair. He remembers the pain of the shocks but that it's. He must have passed out after that, he figures.

Slowly he rises, noting that it's already midday. Jason is in the living room when he walks out and gives him a worried glance.

"What happened last night?" Tim asks before Jason can voice his concerns.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

Tim sinks into the other end of the sofa, putting his feet over Jason's lap. "I must have been wrecked. I feel like shit and I don't remember much at all."

Jason only looks more worried. "Well, when I came to the warehouse Nigma had you in, you were already out. I go inside and you'd beaten the crap out of Ed- who's in an induced coma, by the way. Then I take you home but then you left again. Going for a walk or something. You didn't say where you went and I didn't ask."

"Oh," is all Tim could bring himself to say. Nigma must have hit him pretty hard if he has a concussion this bad. Then another idea hits him. Tim hasn't been subjected to electric shocks like last night since Junior when he was thirteen, and he's always suspected that the shocks would be a trigger.

It makes a terrible amount of sense that Tim can't ignore. If Junior had had control last night Tim needs to be sure of it and he needs to know what he did.

"Jay? Did I say or do anything out of the ordinary last night?"

"You mean apart from beat Nigma to an inch from his life?"

"No, did I say anything strange? Anything that didn't sound like me?"

Jason looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well you asked for me to give you a lift back here instead of riding your own bike. Then when you left, you were wearing your own hoodie, not mine. You were very nonchalant about what you did as well. When I asked about it you said it was 'only a few well-placed kicks'. It didn't seem like something you'd say but ultimately I'm chalking it up to delusion. Bruce looked at the energy usage from the warehouse last night and Ed put a lot of electricity through you."

Tim doesn't say anything to that. Jason's words are like a slap in the face. 'It didn't sound like something you'd say'. He doesn't need any more than that to know Junior was in control. It is a worrying thought because he went somewhere last night and there is no way to know what he had done. Later, Tim will go check street footage to see if he can find himself and he thinks that maybe he should tell Jason about Junior.

Jason does, after all, have a right to know who he is living with. He must have fallen asleep last night next to Junior and Tim is beyond grateful that Jason isn't dead yet. This is the second time Tim knows of where Junior had held the reigns within the last year and the commonness isn't something Tim can get used to. And Jason isn't an idiot. He'll figure it out of his own after too long and that will only be so much worse.

So Tim makes the decision that, next time, if there is a next time, Junior is in control, he will tell Jason and he can only hope that it won't be too late.

But in the meantime, he will take every precaution necessary to prevent another occurrence.

He is unaware of Jason's worried gaze as he fights himself in his brain. Because he can't afford _not_ to tell Jason, now. He _really_ doesn't want to but it is becoming necessary. He can't have Jason ignorantly living with Junior. That is too high a risk but yet he can't bring himself to say anything.

Jason will surely hate him and if he knows what he might be living with, he won't want to be in the same building as Tim ever again.

And Tim can't sacrifice Jason. He's gotten so used to his company there is no way he can just throw that away. So he keeps his mouth closed and suffers in guilted silence, praying to God that Junior isn't planning to resurface soon.

XXXXXXXX

Tim fights every day. He looks after himself, he sleeps and eats and stays healthy to keep himself in control. He is proud of his own efforts and idly wonders why he hasn't been doing this all his life because he's never felt better.

But then everything comes crashing down as was inevitable. And Tim's breaking point is Jason.

He's been missing for days. One night, during patrol, Jason just hadn't come home. There was no word, no clue, no location and absolutely nothing to go on. He doesn't have a starting point and he is driving himself mad.

Three days into the pursuit, Tim has to be force fed by Steph and sedated.

At the time, her actions made him angry but after waking with a fresh mind 8 hours later, he's never been more thankful towards her.

Babs has managed to narrow down their search and gives them a block radius of where he disappeared from.

A further three days in, almost a week, Tim finds him.

Jason is lying bloody and broken on the cold floor of an abandoned sports centre all the way up in New York City and between Tim, Dick and Bruce, all attackers are unconscious on the ground, Tim's victims in a worse state than Jason.

Back at the Cave, a medical examination displays large doses of a new chemical compound in his system, multiple lacerations, two bullet wounds in his left thigh, several broken ribs and a decimated radius in his right arm.

He comes to the day after they get back and never has Tim seen anyone under such heavy sedation of morphine. It would almost be funny if the circumstances were any different.

A week, lots of bandages and a pair of crutches later, they are back living in their apartment.

And Tim is back to his old ways of disregarding self-care. Jason is a much higher priority at the moment. Once he can look after himself, Tim might take to time to sleep more than three hours at a time. Until then though…

In hindsight, Tim should have known what would happened. An exhausted body equals an exhausted mind and now that he knows Junior is plotting, he should have let himself rest.

But that's the beauty of retrospect.

XXXXXXXX

Junior can't believe his luck to find Jason in such a terrible condition.

Not that he has had any apprehension in his ability to take Jason down, Jason trusts Tim too much, but now it will only be that much easier.

He feels that his body is tired. Tim has been pushing them to extremes, obviously, and the reason isn't too hard to guess.

But where Tim feels tired, Junior is exhilarated. He is energised and excited and his mind runs as fast as ever. He feels as though nothing can stop him now.

He knows the giant smile of his face is not resemblant of Tim but pretending to be Tim doesn't matter anymore. He will tell Jason the truths that Tim has hidden from him and finally, finally, he is going to complete his Papa’s mission. He’s over the games, over playing. He’s waited long enough and now is the time for action. 

"Tim?" Jason asks, looking at him funny as he stands there, smiling obtusely for no apparent reason.

"No, Jason. Tim's not here at the minute. I'm afraid you're left with me for now," he smiles even bigger at Jason's frown. "I'm sorry to tell you, but my other half hasn't been entirely honest, you see. The name's Junior. It's nice to properly meet you."

Junior nearly laughs at Jason's empty face, void of understanding.

" _Junior_? Tim, what are you doing? Don't be an idiot."

Junior laughs. He is already having too much fun and the he hasn’t even started. "I see you don't understand. I can't say I blame you, Tim hasn't done you any favours so let me put it simply; I'm not Timothy Drake. I just so happen to share his body."

"Well whoever you are, just cut it out. I'm not in the mood for your games this morning."

"You still think I'm joking," his broad smile returns. "Let me prove I'm not."

Junior walks around the table to where Jason has a bag on weaponry sitting by the doorway. He inspects the contents, Jason watching him cautiously as he pulls out a long throwing knife.

"Still think I'm not Tim?" he says and flings the knife without aiming. It is a risky move but Junior feels that while Tim has a good aim, that isn't a talent that gets passed between them and Junior wouldn't have hit his target accurately, anyway.

Jason has to duck to avoid getting hit in the head and the tip of the knife protrude from the wall behind him. "What the fuck, Tim? What do you think you're doing?"

"Again with the 'Tim', Jason. Maybe if I inform you of the circumstance in my comings about, you'll understand a little better. Now, where to begin," Junior has to admit to himself the theatrics weren't necessary. There is only Jason here but he is his father's son and an audience is an audience, no matter how small. "I'm sure you're aware of the circumstances regarding the death of the Joker. And I'm sure you know what poor little Timmy had to go through in the weeks leading up to that. My father subjected him to a series of electro-shock therapy; a useful little experiment from the olden days. To cope with the shock and the pain and the trauma, little Timbo dissociated and thus I was born.” He takes a bow. “Joker Junior! And I am here to fulfil my father's mission, killing the Batman and I plan to take revenge on the way. Make any sense yet?"

Junior halts from the pacing he had started up and stands in the centre of the room, arms wide and smile big as ever. Jason stares blankly back at him.

"Come on, Jason. I know you're a smart guy. Surely it's not that hard for you?"

"I… I, uh…" Jason stammers and doesn't take his eyes from Junior.

Feeling slightly fed up with his incoherence, Junior sighs and picks up a frying pan that is sitting in the kitchen and knocks Jason over the head. He doesn't even put up a fight.

Junior ties him to one of the dining chairs as securely as he knows how and fills in the waiting hours with searching the apartment for the multiple weapons Jason and Tim have between them. He collects an assortment of guns, knives and Tim's staff, practices for a bit and then finds out how to get the camera footage from the Batcave up on Tim's laptop after an hour of clicking random buttons.

Between watching, Junior changes out of Tim's horrible, boring clothes and into what he deems more appropriate. Unfortunately, Tim had nothing purple in his closest at all, nor Jason for that matter, but he does find a deep green button down shirt that he paired a dark pair of slacks and finds the time to set up a video recording. He intends to let Tim know exactly what happens with full knowledge that Jason will never tell him whether the man comes out of this alive or otherwise.

He waits until Jason wakes up an agonisingly long time later; 4 hours and 22 minutes, to be exact.

He groans, rolls his head and struggles for a minute before seemingly remembering what had happened. He looks up and locks eyes with Junior, who smiles back.

Junior sees the way the smile sent a shiver down Jason's spine and the reaction is blissful. To ignite a reaction like that, the type his father created effortlessly, is a sensation to behold.

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty. How are we feeling this afternoon?" Jason stares at him again and Junior feels the urge to hit him with the pan again and only just restrained himself. "It's rude to ignore people, you know. I said-" He takes two large steps forward abruptly, placing his hands just above Jason's knees and leans in, their faces hardly inches apart. "-How are you feeling, Jason?"

"Um…" Jason breathes and Junior figures he is in a state of shock or something. He supposes Jason hasn't seen Papa since he died all that time ago and he does pride himself on the way he seems to be able reproduce his father's being.

So he sighs dramatically and slaps Jason hard across the face. "That’s for being rude, pretty bird. Before we begin, I want you to know that this is nothing personal. You seem like a good guy and Tim's lucky to have you. Unfortunately for you, I don’t want Tim to be lucky so I don't want him to have you. Oh, and wave to the camera so when Timmy's watching later he can feel included." Junior turns and makes an example of waving. "Now, I've found some goodies around here. Do you realise that you have a knife addiction, Jason? There were too many to choose from so I think I'll need to test each one to find my favourite. Papa used to have a favourite knife. I'm sure you met it once or twice. I'm thinking this one looks good. Let's give it a go!"

Junior watches with too much satisfaction as Jason squirms in the chair and his face reflects utter horror. This is going to be _so_ much fun.

And fun it is. Jason is a bloody mess not even half an hour later and Junior has no intentions of stopping any time soon.

He finds such enjoy in discovering the healing bullet wounds in Jason's thigh and that his arm is still mending. As promised, he tests each of Jason's 25 different knives, leaving a mark for each.

"I think I've narrowed it down to numbers 5, 8 or 21. I'll do each of them again, and you can tell me which is better," he says and does exactly that. Jason lets out a cry at each one, his screams getting louder with each cut.

"Stop. Fuck, please, just stop," he begs and Junior relishes it.

"Ask for little Timmy to come save you," he leans in to whisper in Jason's ear, spending a shiver though him. "Beg for Tim to take control and save you from me."

The words are punctuated by Junior thrusting the knife currently in his hands into Jason's leg, pushing all the way through only to stop at the wood of the chair.

Jason screams but doesn't beg for Tim. And that just won't do.

"Beg for him!" Junior screams, twisting the blade. "Plead to me to let him out! Beg him to fight against me to make this all stop!" He is getting maniacal now, he knows. Letting himself get carried away but he doesn’t care because he knows Tim isn't listening, that isn't how their bond works but that shouldn't stop Jason. " _BEG_!"

One more twist of the knife has Jason screaming for Tim.

"Tim! I need you to hear me, make him stop. Fight, Tim, fi- Ah!"

Junior unleashes a wicked laugh as the knife twists for a third time and Jason's words are ripped from his throat in a howl of pain.

He steps back to admire his handiwork. By his count, Jason is now laced with at least 30 deep cut, most of which needing medical attention, some very seriously irritated bullet wound, even more broken ribs, an arm whose healing is back to square one and now a hole torn in his right thigh. Poor, poor Jason.

"Well, I’ve had fun, Jason. It’s been a blast, actually. We should do this again sometimes but for now, I _do_ have a mission to attend to and other personal vendettas to fill. Though, I think I did like this one best," he walks over and pulls the knife from Jason leg. "Number 21. It’s been nice getting to know you, darling. Hopefully I'll see you soon."

With those parting words, Junior slips the bloody knife into the pockets of his pants, not caring about the inevitable stains, picks up the backpack he had filled with guns earlier and leaves, leaving Jason panting heavily and bleeding out.

He makes his way down to the garage he remembers from last time and jumps into a car, feeling like he will have more luck driving this than a motorbike.

Fortunately for him, it is as fast as it is flashy and he follows intuition (and road signs) up to Wayne Manor.

It is still mid-afternoon by the time he gets there, having only spent just over two hours with Jason this afternoon.

The man he knows as Alfred opened the front door.

"Master Timothy, I daresay it is good to see you again. How's Master Jason travelling?"

"Jason? He could be worse off, I s'pose. He's getting better already." Juniors thinks the smile on his face is probably more feral than innocent, but he tries his best 

If Alfred notices anything out of the ordinary, the butler doesn't comment on it. "That is tremendous news indeed. Why don't you come in, Master Tim?"

Junior readjusts his 'Tim' smile and steps over the threshold. Wayne Manor is just as he remembered it; large and expansive and far bigger than ever necessary for anyone with less than 20 children.

"Is everyone home, Alfred?" Junior asks. He is here for business, after all, and the quicker he gets this done the better.

"Yes, Master Damian is up in his room and Master Bruce is down in the Batcave. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so, if you were wanting to stay?"

"Thanks for the offer, Alf, but I'm just here on business, I'm afraid. And I've got Jason waiting for me back at home.

"Of course, sir. Let me know if you are in need of any assistance." Alfred does a little bow of sorts and walks away, letting Junior navigate his way through the Manor to the old grandfather clock and the Cave, where Batman is sitting at the computer, staring intently.

Junior feels a surge of adrenaline at the sight of his target. After all these years, he is finally going to make his Papa proud.

"Tim. I didn't expect you back for a few weeks at least," Batman says as soon as Junior lands the final step.

"Oh, you know," Junior says, waving nonchalantly with a hand, "Just popping in for a visit."

Batman turns to look at him. Junior feels a pang of stupidity because Tim doesn't visit, obviously. The idiot doesn't 'have time' for that. Junior should have found a way to be more subtle, but it isn’t like it matters, now.

"Is that blood on your hands?"

Junior looks at his own palms and yes, it is. He has forgotten to wash it off. _Shit._

"So what if it is?"

"Who's blood is it, Tim?" Batman isn't messing around. He is ever the stoic man Junior remembers.

"Jason's,” he answers honestly. There is no point lying about it now. Batman isn't the world's greatest detective for nothing.

Batman stands and squares his shoulders. "What have to done to him?"

"Nothing long lasting," Junior says ominously, all pretence of being Tim entirely gone now. "Not yet anyway."

"What are you here for, Junior?"

The trademark smile appears at the sound of his name. "So he _does_ recognise me. I must admit, I was kind of worried that I'd have to do the whole monologue thing again. Jason really didn't have any idea about me. And I thought you thought I died with my father but it seems you've still got your senses about you. That's good to know."

He stops half way between the stair way and Batman to put the backpack on a table and pulls out a gun and the knife from his pocket.

"I wonder if you'll scream as loud as he did," Junior ponders out loud as he points the gun at Batman. To his credit, the man doesn't so much as flinch when Junior pulls the trigger and a bullet flies over his head. "That's so you know I'm not messing around," he warns.

"I never thought you were," Batman retorts.

"Smart man then. But brains won't stop a bullet."

Junior catches him tense then and sees the exact moment he realises Junior only has one purpose here. He isn't here to play games, not like Papa used to. Not with the Batman. The others, like Jason, are reserved for the games but Batman is marked with a big, red cross.

Junior smiles and Batman pales as the gun lowers to chest height and Junior takes a step forward. Oh, he loves this. Hearing Jason yell and plead and seeing the fear in his eyes is special but nothing compares to the dying hope in Batman's eyes. Junior doesn't think anything ever will.

That is until he pulled the trigger and a flood of red swelled around the white shirt Batman is wearing. There is a mixture of emotion flooding his face that had, until this point, remained carefully blank. It is a combination of fear and surprise and _sadness_ and it makes Junior feel higher than the clouds.

He laughs as Batman falls to his knees and he skips over to the crumbling man, pulling out the knife and stabbing him in the top of the shoulder, wedging the blade between the scapular and clavicle with a deranged laugh.

Disappointingly, Batman doesn't scream, just like Jason hadn't for the first few inflictions. But Junior knows even Batman has a point of intolerance where the shouts will become involuntary. It shouldn't take long for Junior to find it.

A kick to the stomach and knee to the chin brings Batman to the floor, sprawling in his own blood and it is a sight to behold.

Another kick breaks his nose. One more shatters two ribs and fractures a third. The crush of cartilage and bone brings satisfaction like nothing else.

Then Junior shoots him again and Batman yells. Junior laughs, louder and more freely than ever because this is what he was born to do. This is his purpose and his mission and he knows his Papa would be proud.

He is proud of himself.

He watches for a minute as Batman heaves and struggles for breath, absolutely defenseless and _dying_. While Junior lives for the moment, he feels it is coming to its end. Best not to drag this on, he thinks and raises the gun once more, aiming for the head rather than the legs now. He waits for Batman to meet his eye and he holds his gaze for an extended moment before smiling in a perfect replication of the Joker. He wondered what it must feel like for Batman, what it felt like for Jason, to see that sight of their beloved's face.

The thought makes him smile all the more brighter and his finger tightened around the trigger.

But he is a moment too late.

He isn't sure what happened, but a sting speeds through the back of his skull before he falls. The last thing he is aware of is a small boy, a young version of Batman, looking at him with horrified eyes.

XXXXXXXX

Tim isn't aware of anything to start off with expect for the soft beeping of machine that signals his awakening.

Slowly, he opens his eyes but the glare of the room and the ache in the back of his head makes him close them again. Faintly, he knows that he isn't in his own bed but it is as though that information didn't process. The only thing he can dwell on was the worst headache he's ever had that is threatening to split his skull open.

"You awake, Tim?" A soft voice asks and Tim's automatic thoughts say it is Jason but the voice isn't deep enough to belong to him.

"Dick?" Tim cracks an eye open to see his oldest brother sitting down in the chair next to his bed. "Why am I in the Cave?"

Dick looks at him for a long time and Tim knows before he even speak that he isn't going to like the answer. Truthfully, Tim is terrified of what it will be, judging by Dick's apprehension of telling him and the fact that he can't remember anything apart from going to bed. The combination doesn't spell for anything less than awful.

"Damian hit you on the head with your staff. You were…" Dick breaks off and Tim's heart stops beating, waiting for the response. "You were about to kill Bruce, Tim."

_Oh_. Tim's mind takes less than a second to realise that this was Junior. Tim knows that's what Joker had created him for and they had guessed that was all Junior really wanted. And apparently he would have succeeded if Damian hadn't been there.

He is dwelling on the thoughts of what he nearly did to Bruce that it takes him a moment to realise that he would have had to come from his and Jason's place to get to the Manor. And Jason isn't here.

Panic takes an abrupt hold on him and Tim's worst nightmares come to the forefront of his mind. "Dick, where's Jason? Please, God please tell me I didn't hurt him!" Pain spreads over Dick's features and once more Dick doesn't have to say anything for Tim to know the answer. "Please just tell me I didn't kill him."

Dick shakes his head but his eyes fill with tears. "You didn't kill him but he's not good, Tim. He lost a lot of blood. If we had of gotten to him any later I don't even want to think about what would have happened. It was… It wasn't pretty, Tim. He hasn't woken up yet since we brought him here."

"How long as it been?" Tim demands, dread filling every crevice of his being.

"Two days."

Tim lies himself back down and closes his eyes against the thoughts flooding his mind but the brutal images he conjures up come anyway. _God what had he done?_

Neither him or Dick speak for a long time, each dwelling on his own thoughts, Tim digging himself a well of guilt and Dick trying to think of something to say to help Tim.

"It wasn't your fault; you know that right?" Dick says and Tim scoffs at him, opening his eyes again.

"We both know Junior is my responsibility and I'm accountable for his actions. He is, after all, just, another twisted version of me. We aren't separate."

"You know that's not true either, Tim. You know that you have no control over his actions-"

"But I can control myself and Junior never should have been able to make decisions! It's all on me, Dick. All of it."

Dick knows a losing battle when he finds one and doesn't argue further and Tim is grateful for his resignation because he really doesn't want to have to argue his own guilt. He knows partially, that Dick is right and he can't stop Junior's actions but, as he said, he can stop Junior from getting a choice.

"How bad is Bruce?" He forces himself to ask after a while, realising that Dick hasn't said.

Once again Dick's hesitance lets him know it was bad. "You shot him twice. Once in the stomach and once in the leg. But the abdominal damage is bad, the bullet practically blew up his kidney but he can live without that. Stab wound to the shoulder, dislocated jaw and three broken ribs and nose. He's still under as well." Dick reels off all at once, seemingly under the impression it won't sound as bad if he says it fast enough.

But it is still like a blow to Tim's gut. That's two people he nearly killed and if Damian hadn't stopped him, they both, and others, might've died.

"Where's Damian?"

"He's with Bruce."

"Can I please speak to him?" Tim asks, unsure how you thank someone for stopping you from committing murder.

Dick nods and moves to get him from whatever bed Bruce is lying unconscious on. Damian comes back alone.

"Drake. You're up I see." He nods and sits down.

Tim looks at him for a moment, still contemplating the right way to say this but can't think with his brain still pounding against his skull. "Thank you," he blurts out instead and the blunt gratitude seems to surprise Damian.

"For hitting you on the head? You're welcome. I'll remember to do it more often."

Tim snorts in spite of himself. "You know what I meant. Thank you for stopping me."

Damian sobers and nods again. "Grayson tried to explain it to me but I am yet to understand what happened. I know that it wasn't you in control of your action so who was it?"

That is the million-dollar question, Tim supposes and idly wonders how many time he is going to have to explain this in the next few days. "He calls himself Junior. When I first became Robin, I was kidnapped by the Joker and he tried to implement mind control through electro-therapy. I suppose he got more than he bargained for. Have you heard of dissociation?" Damian nods. "Well, Joker had me for weeks and to cope with the constant pain, my mind dissociated and Junior was left behind. I guess Joker brainwashed him or something, I really don't know, but he seems to think that Joker is his father and it’s his life goal to kill The Batman. And while I don’t want to admit it, he gains control every now and then but up until now I assume he’s just be surveying and hasn’t done any real damage. But he, I…”

Tim trails off and he figures Damian knows what he was going to say.

“While you know I like to blame you for everything Drake, I do sincerely believe that this situation was out of your control and could not be prevented. The only person accountable for it is the Joker.”

“But he’s dead,” Tim whispers. “You can’t blame a man whose been dead for over 6 years.”

“Still,” Damian continues. “I can’t bring myself to blame you. You’re a control freak, Drake, but no matter what you seem to think you can’t arrange everything in life as desired and then blame yourself when thing don’t turn out the way you want them to. Some things are subjected to fate itself and out of our reach. Instances such as this one, for example.”

Damian doesn’t give Tim a chance to argue as he gets up and walks back off in the direction he came. As he thinks back over his conversations with both his brothers, Tim is pulled back into sleep.

XXXXXXXX

Jason wakes the next day. Bruce wakes a few hours after. Tim doesn’t think he’s ever felt more relieved. But he doesn't go see either of them.

Instead, he holes himself up in his room, like he has since he got out of bed the previous day, and watches them over the camera feed that comes directly to his laptop.

He watches Alfred check and redress their bandages and he hears Dick tell both of them that Tim is unharmed and sleeping in his room after they both ask.

He then hears Jason give a brief description of events from back at their apartment and as soon as Tim learns about the footage Junior had recorded, he goes searching. It isn't that he wants to watch it because he honestly doesn't at all, doesn't want to watch himself torture the person he loves the most, but he _needs_ to know what happened.

He leaves the Cave feed open while he hunts through the data over the Bat-system. He hears Jason ask to see him and sees Dick leave, only to knock on his door a minute later. Tim ignores him.

There is no way he can look at Jason face-to-face. Not after what his person had done to him.

Tim knows that Junior's actions weren't his own but it is still his face that Jason saw as Junior mutilated him. It is Tim he trusted and it is Tim who defiled that trust.

So he can't look at Jason. He doesn't think he'll be able to for a while yet.

Eventually his search turns the video up and Tim is sick just from seeing the length of it. There is just under three hours of footage, the first half an hour showing Jason unconscious, tied to the dining chair.

Then Junior comes back into frame.

Tim throws up four time within the first hour and he would have more but there was nothing left in his stomach. His cheeks become tear-stained and when Junior makes Jason beg for Tim, the laptop gets thrown across the room.

The crash is loud and echoes through the otherwise silence. Tim scrambles off his bed and into the connecting bathroom, almost drowning himself in cold water.

He looks into the mirror at his sunken, pale face and the only person he can see is Junior, smiling back at him. His fist goes flying through the glass in a motion of little thought. The skin over his knuckles splits and ache and they spew blood all over his hand but he pays them no mind, instead electing to leave the bathroom and broken glass behind.

But he found no peace for his sudden restlessness back in his room that stinks of vomit and the broken laptop lay ominously against the wall and he just wants to scream. He wants to yell at someone or hit something else because he wants to direct everything bad he is feeling at something other than himself.

Though, simply, he is the only one around and he deserves to beat himself up over this. He just saw what he did to Jason and he knows what he has done to Bruce and he is fully aware that no one else is going to punish him for it. They will tell him that his wasn't his fault and that everything will be okay. They will all forgive him.

But things won't be okay because he will never forgive himself. No matter what Jason says, there will always be apprehension between them now because Tim is never going to let himself forget what happened. He can never trust himself again because while Junior is not in control now, he hasn’t left any more than he left last time. He'll never leave so things will never be okay.

Tim needs to figure out a way to get rid of him for good. But right now, he needs to get out. The room is suffocating him and he is confident that at this moment, all other residents of Wayne Manor were down in the Cave. He can leave and no one will notice.

On his way out his grabs his old phone, one he knows he has rid of any tracking devices and when he turns it on, a picture of him and Jason looks out at him and Tim feels fresh tear pool behind his eyes.

He wishes he could go back in time and tell Jason _no_. Stop Jason from caring about him and stop himself from caring about Jason.

That's the way it should be.

This is _why_ it should be.

As his tears reach his chin, Tim turns and walks out the door.

He isn't sure if he plans to come back.

**Author's Note:**

> I plan for one more work to conclude this series. Beware, it's going to be SUPER angsty and may or may not take a bit more than a week to get done but my finger are crossed it'll be posted sooner rather than later. 
> 
> Anyway, hoped you liked and I'll be glad to hear some reviews :)


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